Conservative Icon George Will Accuses Donald Trump Of Being In Bed With Russian Oligarchs

Well THAT was unexpected. A lot of loose talk has been flying around about Trump’s disturbing ties to the Russian mob and leadership (not that there’s much daylight between the two). The right, of course, has been waving it off as just more liberal lies. But how will they ignore it when it comes from one of their most respected intellectuals?

Fox News contributor George Will says GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump will not release his tax returns because they may show “he is deeply involved in dealing with Russia oligarchs.”

The claim — which Will could not support with any tangible proof — was made to Bret Baier on Fox News’s “Special Report” live from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Monday night. The topic was raised after some Democratic Party officials, including presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, attempted to connect the Republican presidential nominee to a leak of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails.

As of right now, the FBI is almost positive that Russian hacker groups with ties to the Russian government were behind the hacks and Donald Trump hasn’t done himself any favors by bragging about how his friends in Russia helped him out by hacking the DNC.

Trump has also spent an uncomfortable amount of time praising Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and has several people on his staff that have worked closely with the Russian government in the past. While it’s tempting to chalk this up to the kind of “redbaiting” the right spent decades perfecting, it raises several serious questions about whose interests Trump would put first: America’s or his Russian business partners? Considering Trump’s long and disgraceful track record of screwing over anyone and everyone to make a buck, it’s not at all clear that he would put country before bank account.

Not long ago, George Will quit the Republican Party over the direction Trump was taking it in but Will is still highly respected in the conservative movement. If this is a question he’s asking, Trump’s ties to Russia may have gone from being a “liberal conspiracy” to something people should start taking seriously.